CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Preparing a Thanksgiving feast is no easy feat and the truth is, a lot can go wrong. The good news is there are ways to fix even the worst cooking mistakes.
Undercooked turkey
Separate the bird by carving it into different pieces; breast, legs, wings, etc.
Place those pieces onto baking sheets and into the oven at 375 checking them every 15 minutes.
Separating the turkey will speed up the cooking time so your guests won't be waiting around until midnight to eat.
Overcooked turkey
With this scenario, you want to add moisture back into your bird.
According to Epicurious, the easiest way to do that is with gravy and butter.
Smother your dried-out bird in a mixture of both to bring it back to life. Will it be perfect? No, but it'll be a lot better than it was.
Salty gravy
According to Southern Living, you can offset the saltiness with dairy.
Whisk some cream, half and half, or creme fraiche into the gravy to neutralize the problem.
Another method Southern Living recommends is to dilute the gravy with liquid stock or broth. Just make sure the kind you're using is unsalted!
Gummy mashed potatoes
The experts say there isn't much you can do to fix the problem potatoes but you can turn the issue into a new dish altogether, potatoes au gratin.
Bake the gummy potatoes in a coated casserole dish with grated cheese and top with bread crumbs.
It'll be so tasty, your guests will never guess your cheesy take on the classic wasn't what you had originally planned.
Contact Carolyn Bruck at cbruck@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.